​Governments spy on journalists with weaponized malware – WikiLeaks

Journalists and dissidents are under the microscope of intelligence agencies, Wikileaks revealed in its fourth SpyFiles series. A German software company that produces computer intrusion systems has supplied many secret agencies worldwide.

The weaponized surveillance malware, popular among intelligence
agencies for spying on “journalists, activists and political
dissidents,” is produced by FinFisher, a German company.
Until late 2013, FinFisher used to be part of the UK-based Gamma
Group International, revealed WikiLeaks in the latest published
batch of secret documents.

FinFisher’s spyware exploits and monitors systems remotely. It’s
capable of intercepting communications and data from OS X,
Windows and Linux computers, as well as Android, iOS, BlackBerry,
Symbian and Windows Mobile portable devices. Three back-end
programs are required for the spy program to operate. FinFisher
Relay and FinSpy Proxy programs are FinFisher suite components
that route and manage intercepted traffic, redirecting it to the
FinSpy Master collection program. The spyware can steal
keystrokes, Skype conversations, and even connect to your webcam
and watch you in real time.

The whistleblower has a list of FinFisher surveillance software
buyers. Among the German malware developer’s clients are
intelligence agencies and police forces from Australia, Bosnia, Estonia, Hungary, Italy,
Mongolia, the Netherlands, Pakistan and Qatar.

According to WikiLeaks’ estimates, FinFisher has already earned
about 50 million euros in sales.

“FinFisher continues to operate brazenly from Germany selling
weaponized surveillance malware to some of the most abusive
regimes in the world,” the founder and editor-in-chief of
Wikileaks, Julian Assange, said.

Earlier this year, the tapping of Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone
by the American National Security Agency (NSA) created a scandal
that rocked the German political establishment: a revelation made
thanks to documents exposed by the former NSA contractor and
whistleblower Edward Snowden.

“The Merkel government pretends to be concerned about
privacy, but its actions speak otherwise. Why does the Merkel
government continue to protect FinFisher?” Assange asked.

Assange is calling for an ‘antidote’ to the German-made FinFisher
FinSpy PC spyware, saying a tool is needed to repel such
activities and expose those who do the surveillance by tracking
down spying command and control centers.

WikiLeaks has made newly indexed FinFisher breach material public
via torrents, “including new brochures and a database of the
customer support website, that provide updated details on their
product line and a unique insight into the company's
customer-base.”

“In order to make the data more easily accessible and
consumable, all the new brochures, videos and manuals are now
available organized under the related FinFisher product name. The
database is represented in full, from which WikiLeaks compiled a
list of customers, their eventual attribution, all the associated
support tickets and acquired licenses, along with the estimated
costs calculated from FinFisher's price list,” the WikiLeaks
memo said.

After the scandal that followed revelations of mass NSA spying worldwide,
Germany and France came up with an idea to build a trustworthy
data protection network in Europe to avoid data passing through the US.

The US slammed such plans to construct an EU-centric
communication system, designed to prevent emails and phone calls
from being swept up by the NSA, warning that such a move is a violation of trade
laws.